Notices to Centre, ASI over idols of Hindu deities 'buried' in Agra mosque
Mathura, Jun 3: A group of petitioners in the Shahi Idgah Masjid-Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi dispute suit on Thursday sent legal notices to the Centre and the Archaeological Survey of India seeking relocation of idols of Hindu deities, which they claimed are buried under the staircase of an Agra mosque.
The notice said the movement of the public on the staircase be stopped immediately. The notices have been sent under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, under which parties are required to respond within 60 days.
The petitioners claimed that costly idols taken from the Mathura's Keshav Dev temple were buried under the staircase of the Agra's Begum Sahiba Masjid mosque by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb when he allegedly destroyed the temple here in 1670.
"Relocate the deities within the stipulated time failing which they would be liable to bear the cost," said advocate Mahendra Pratap Singh, one of the petitioners.
The notices have been sent to the Union government through the central secretariat, New Delhi; Director, Archaeological survey of India, New Delhi; Superintendent, Archaeological survey of India; Agra; and the Director, Archaeological survey of India, Mathura.
Earlier, a Mathura court had refused to entertain a plea over the issue, asking the plaintiffs to sent legal notices to the respondents.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey tweets alleged ITR, journalists raise privacy concerns
New Delhi: BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Wednesday shared on social media an alleged income tax return (ITR) document, suggesting a sharp rise in the earnings of a journalist after leaving a salaried job. He left the identity of the journalist unnamed, asking followers to guess.
The Newslaundry citing the post reported that the purported document, which did not mention any name, showed taxable income rising from ₹18.9 lakh in 2019 to ₹1.2 crore in 2021-22, before falling to ₹62.7 lakh in 2022-23.
“Figure it out if you can: whose great journalist’s income tax return is this? Rs 18 lakh in salary, and the moment they quit the job, meaning as soon as they start roaming the streets, abusing Modi ji/BJP, it's in crores. This is the real truth,” Dubey wrote in his post.
Journalist Abhisar Sharma reacted sharply, accusing the MP of breaching confidentiality. Retweeting Dubey’s post, Sharma tagged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the Income Tax Department. “Confidential documents and details of taxpayers… are being tweeted in the public forum by none other than a Member of Parliament,” he wrote, adding that he would file an FIR. “He doesn’t have the guts to name the journalist. But this is what you do. Sheer cowardice,” Sharma said.
Journalist Ravish Kumar also expressed concern, questioning the implications of the disclosure. “Is the BJP now going to extract everyone's ITR and target them? Will someone's hard-earned income be criminalized in this manner?” he asked.
Legal experts point out that disclosure of an individual’s ITR without consent is punishable under Section 72 (breach of confidentiality and privacy) and Section 138 (disclosure of information respecting assessees) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
